Private Francis Drake
| Date of Birth | c1887 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 20 |
| Date of Death | 16/06/1917 |
| Service Number | 233804 |
| Military Service | The London Regiment, Royal Fusiliers |
| Merton Address | |
| Local Memorial | St. Barnabas' Church, Mitcham |
Additional Information
James John and Annie Drakes eldest child Annie who born on the 6th January 1887 was baptised in March 1887, baptismal records reveals that the Drake family lived at 11 Bennett Street in Lambeth.
Francis Drake who was born in the second quarter of 1897 at Holborn in the greater London area was the second son of James John and Annie Drake. His father, James, according to the 1891 Census, was employed as a shoemaker, according to prison records.
Francis spent his early years in and out of Holborn workhouse according to Holborn workhouse admission and discharge records. Francis was first admitted to Holborn workhouse in on the 17th and 26th September in 1899 at the age of one year and discharged on the 13th November 1899. Francis was admitted again on the 13th November 1899 and then discharged on the 9th January 1900 from Holborn workhouse.
The 1901 Census reveals that four-year-old Francis resided with his family at 129 Catherine Buildings, St Martin’s in the Fields in Westminster. His 37-year-old father, James was employed as a bootmaker.
Islington workhouse records reveal that 6 year old Francis had been admitted on the 10th 0coterber 1904 with his 12 year old brother William also with their youngest brother 3 year old Ernest. Their mother Annie was residing in St John’s Road workhouse. All 4 members of the Drake family were discharged on the 11th November 1904.
The 1911 Census records that the Drake family resided at 26 Euston Street, St Pancras in North West London. James John and Annie Drake had five children; only four of the children had survived with one child who had died in childhood. Also living with the Drake family was 28 year-old John Smith, a boarder who was employed as a railway porter.
The Drake family lost another family member when 29 year old Annie died on the 7th January 1916.
Francis’s service record is not available through Ancestry, he enlisted as a private in the London Regiment, Royal Fusiliers at Handel Street and was killed in action on the 16th June 1917, and he is remembered at the Arras Memorial in France.